A knitter in the prime of life who knits to network TV

March 09, 2012

Bandying About

I never thought I’d be able to say this: The knitting on Sirdal is done. That doesn’t mean the project is finished. I have several nights ahead of me in which I have to sew down the facings and attach the buttons. Then it will be on to the final blocking.

But this week I made major progress in marking the button placement, finishing the front buttonbands, and attaching the neckband.

The k1p1 buttonbands have a facing, which is constructed by carefully picking up the stitches at the base of the buttonband (on the inside) and knitting three rows of stockinette plus a bindoff row.

This band covers the cut steek on the inside, and makes a very elegant finish.

Also, my obsession about the buttonholes paid off. I’m really pleased with their appearance along the sweater front. They are neat and nearly invisible. The method is from Katharina Buss’s Big Book of Knitting, where it is described and photographed clearly. Instead of binding off the bottom row as on most one-row buttonholes, you merely pull one stitch over the other (ending with a purl is handy), leaving the last stitch on the left needle. Then you return to the right needle, cast on one more stitch than you bound off, and knit (actually purl--and the reason it is handy is that the yarn is positioned in the front) the last caston stitch with the stitch on the left needle.

The neckband wasn’t quite as cooperative. In order to position the top buttonhole so it aligned with those along the buttonband, I had to place it two stitches in from the edge. When I did this, the buttonband pulled in, and made an ugly crescent shape over the body buttonbands. So I filled in the curve with a couple of rows of single crochet. The neckband will be folded over, and the two buttonholes shown will be positioned one behind the other. I have to sew them together, which I’ll probably do with just a neat overcast using one ply of the yarn. After that, I’ll sew down the edge, and it should be the same width as the body buttonband. If not, I’ll block it until it is (knitting gods: that is a threat).

The one bit of the sweater that has lacked the elegant finishing of the rest of the garment is the sleeve cuff. There is a wobbly edge there, and I think that a row or two of single crochet will give it the firmness it needs. It will always be buttoned, and so it is less of a problem than the neck buttonhole, which might be worn open.

So now it is on to sewing and clipping ends, as I ponder whether I can wear Sirdal any time soon. We hit 70 degrees yesterday, and I planted two rows of spinach (the earliest planting I ever made). If this is what “spring” is like, then Sirdal may spend the next eight months in a plastic box, and the only spring it will see is the bar of Irish Spring soap I use to repel any hapless moth that might try to invade my stash.